articles

[jasbeer k saini]

HI,
I want to know the rules of using articles like A, An, The, Last, The last .

This i know that A is used before consonant and An before Vowel but many times it is confusing. e.g A university, where as i thought An university because i thought it is a vowel sound or e.g An X-ray, whereas X is a consonant sound. so pls tell me how should i recognize the sounds or of there are some others rules pls let me know.

Thanks

[rewboss]

There's a difference between a consonant letter and a consonant sound.

In "university", although we usually count "u" as a vowel letter, the sound the words starts with is actually a "y" sound -- we say "you-niversity".

In "X-ray", although "x" is a consonant letter, the sound the words starts with is actually a vowel -- we say "eks-ray".

The a/an rule is about pronunciation, not spelling.